Monday, March 23, 2015

UShadow Program: A Day in the Life

By Marian Li, Toppel Peer Advisor

Setting up
a job shadowing experience can be daunting and confusing, especially if you
don’t yet have the connections with employers in your field of interest. Job
shadowing is a career exploration activity that offers an opportunity to spend
time with a professional currently working in a person’s career field of
interest. Lucky for you, the Toppel Career Center does all this planning and provides
a contact and introduction for you! The University of Miami UShadow program
provides students the unique opportunity to connect with a knowledgeable
alumni/employer hosts and investigate a potential career field in our local community
through a typical workday.

I personally,
had the chance to participate in the UShadow twice, both this year as well as
last. A little background about me, I’m a junior majoring in Health Science
Business Administration. Yeah I know, it’s a mouthful and somewhat difficult of
an industry to enter without any help. This year, I had the opportunity to
shadow the Clinical Resource Coordinator at Jackson Memorial Systems. The day
started off with a tour of the building and introductions to her staff. Right
as we were about to head to her office, the hospital had a fire drill;
prompting more introductions to other hospital administrators my host hadn’t
planned on, life takes you in funny directions. Originally the day was supposed
to be focused on the administrative aspect of healthcare, but during the
30-minute drill, I had the chance to pick the minds of many practitioners and
their thoughts regarding profit versus non-profit institutes. This is one of
the many benefits of shadowing, at the end of your experience, you hear more
than one story of how people got to where they are – which in my opinion, is
the most enriching part of meeting people.

Every now
and then, as students, we lose sight of the long-term goal we have
post-graduation: a job we love. Having a chance to speak with someone in a position
I hope to be in within the next 10 years was a motivation to work towards what
I wanted. Through UShadow, not only do you gain insight, but you also gain a
mentor to aid you through your journey. My host, an alumni of the university,
and I connected while reminiscing about our time at UM which made conversation
flow naturally, and I got to learn more about her. The most important advice I
took from my experience was that, no matter what industry, networking is what
sets candidates apart, and what better way to network than through a day
shadowing!

The UShadow program is open to all University of
Miami students who are in good academic standing with the University and are
classified as sophomores or juniors at the University of Miami. Students should
also review the timeline of events to ensure they can attend one of the
Pre-Departure Orientations. Students from all majors are encouraged to
participate! Be sure to check out Toppel’s noteworthy program!